Hockey stick extender

ABSTRACT

The hockey stick extender device was invented to address the problems of too short goalie sticks. A stick being “too short” means that the point where the stick broadens out is too low on the shaft. The extender is a cap with a hole or tunnel pierced therethrough. The shaft of the hockey stick is passed through the extender, and the extender is lowered on the shaft until it lies on the part of the stick where the stick widens. The effect of the extender is to raise the point where the goalie will grasp the stick higher on the shaft of the stick, or equivalently the combined stick and extender raises the point where the shaft of the combined stick and extender widens.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This patent relates to a device to use with hockey goalie sticks.

BACKGROUND

In the sport of ice hockey, goaltenders use specially shaped goalie sticks, that essentially are flatter and wider towards the bottom of the stick. In use, the part of the shaft of the stick where the stick broadens out is important, since in use that is where the goalie will grasp the stick with his blocker hand. (This hand is called the blocker hand since the glove on that hand typically includes a blocker) If, during the flow of play, the goalie shifts his blocker hand away from the part of the shaft of the stick where the stick widens, the goalie usually (and is usually trained to) return his blocker hand to this position.

The choice of size of the stick has important ramifications for the goaltender. When grasping the stick and in his default stance (the stance to which he will return while standing), the blade of the stick should lie flat upon the ice. If the blade of the stick lies flat upon the ice and the point on the shaft where the stick broadens and the goalie grasps the stick is too low, the goaltender will be forced out of his optimal stance: his blocker hand will be too low and the goalie's stance will be out of balance (i.e. standing too low, hunched over or leaning towards the blocker side). On the other hand, if the blade of the stick lies flat upon the ice and the point on the shaft where the stick broadens and the goalie grasps the stick is too high, the goaltender will be forced out of his optimal stance: his blocker hand will be too high and the goalie's stance will be out of balance (i.e. standing too high or leaning away from the blocker side).

Goaltender sticks are available in a variety of pre-set sizes. However, this does not completely address the issues with proper goalie stick sizing and use. Unless a goalie obtains an (expensive) custom made stick, the pre-set sizes may not be optimal for a particular goalie. In addition, in cases where a goalie has obtained a stick that is to short (a common mistake caused by selecting a stick without taking into account the additional height added by skates), the goalie can only rectify the mistake by obtaining a new stick.

SUMMARY

The hockey stick extender device was invented to address the problems of too short goalie sticks, whether in the context of a stick that has been purchased that is simply too small, or in the context of customizing a stick that is generally acceptable but could be improved. In this context a stick being “too short” means that the point where the stick broadens out is too low on the shaft.

The extender is a cap with a hole or tunnel pierced therethrough. The shaft of the hockey stick is passed through the extender, and the extender is lowered on the shaft until it lies on the part of the stick where the stick widens. The effect of the extender is to raise the point where the goalie will grasp the stick higher on the shaft of the stick, or equivalently the combined stick and extender raises the point where the shaft of the combined stick and extender widens. In either case, in a goalie's neutral stance this has the effect of raising the blocker hand and (if the stick was originally too short) assisting to balance the stance of the goaltender. By proper choice of the combination of stick and extender, a better personalized goalie stick results.

As described below, the extender may be provided with further optional features that form additional embodiments of the basic device.

In accordance with the invention, there is provided a device comprising a cap with two members attached at opposite ends of the cap extending away from the cap on a downwards angle and a hole pierced through the cap. In another aspect of the present invention, the hole and members are adapted to fit securely on a goalie stick for hockey. In another aspect of the present invention, the underside of the members has a groove. In another aspect of the present invention, the underside of said members is made of a flexible plastic. In another aspect of the present invention, the device has been cut into two pieces and the cut separates the hole into two parts. In another aspect of the present invention, the hole has an inner surface, and the inner surface is made of a flexible plastic. In another aspect of the present invention, the underside of the members has a groove, the underside of the members is made of a flexible plastic, and the hole has an inner surface, and the inner surface is made of a flexible plastic. In another aspect of the present invention, the flexible plastic is a thermoplastic elastomer.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In order to better understand various exemplary embodiments, reference is made to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is an illustration of a typical goalie hockey stick;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the hockey stick extender;

FIG. 3 is a side view of the hockey stick extender;

FIG. 4 is a top view of the hockey stick extender;

FIG. 5 is a view of the hockey stick extender in use with the typical goalie hockey stick of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 6 is a side view of the hockey stick extender divided into two pieces.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the sport of ice hockey, goaltenders use specially shaped goalie sticks, and example of which is illustrated in FIG. 1. Turning to FIG. 1, a goaltender stick 10 is illustrated, with a shaft 12, and a blade 18. The end of the shaft 12 that connects with blade 18 has a wider, generally flat section 16. Section 16 meets blade 18 at point 17. Point 14 is the point where the shaft 12 widens into section 16. This point includes shoulders 15 where the shaft widens into section 16.

In use, point 14 and shoulders 15 are important, since in use that is where the goalie will grasp the stick with his blocker hand. (This hand is called the blocker hand since the glove on that hand typically includes a blocker). If, during the flow of play, the goalie shifts his blocker hand away from the part of the shaft of the stick where the stick widens, the goalie usually (and is usually trained to) return his blocker hand to this position. In practice, this often occurs by the goalie's blocker hand sliding down shaft 12 until it encounters shoulders 15 at point 14.

When actively goaltending, the goalie has a default bend-knees stance to which the goalie is trained to return. In this stance, the goaltender has bent knees, the blocker hand grasps the hockey stick 10 at point 14, and blade 18 lies flat upon the ice.

Ideally, the best stance of the goaltender is reflected by choosing a goalie stick that matches the goaltender's best stance: in other words, a stick is chosen that matches the stance.

In reality, however, goaltenders often if not typically alter their stance to match their stick due to the necessity of having blade 18 rest upon its length upon the ice. If, when the length of the blade of the stick 18 lies flat upon the ice, point 14 is too low for the goaltender's optimal stance, then compared to the optimal stance the goaltender's blocker hand will be too low and the goalie's stance will be out of balance (i.e. leaning towards the blocker side).

Goaltender sticks are available in a variety of pre-set sizes. However, this does not completely address the issues with proper goalie stick sizing and use. Unless a goalie obtains an (expensive) custom made stick, the pre-set sizes may not be optimal for a particular goalie. It is more common for a goaltender stick to be too short than too long, since goaltenders often purchase sticks without properly accounting for the additional height from wearing skates as opposed to shoes.

The hockey stick extender is illustrated in a perspective view in FIG. 2. Turning to FIG. 2, extender 21 includes a cap 20 that is connected to members 22 and 24. A hole 26 is pierced through the cap 20. Hole 26 may be more easily seen in FIG. 4, a top view of the extender 21. Hole 26 has an inner surface 46. Turning to FIG. 3, it may be seen that members 22 and 24 extend downwards at angles 28 and 30 from cap 20.

FIG. 5 is an illustration of the extender 21 in use on a stick 10. In use, shaft 12 of hockey stick 10 is passed through hole 26, and members 22 and 24 come to rest on shoulders 15 of hockey stick 12.

Returning to FIG. 3, angles 30 and 28 should be designed so that lower surfaces 32 and 34 of members 24 and 26 rest snugly against shoulders 15 of stick 10.

Returning of FIG. 5, the use of extender 21 effectively replaces the distance from point 17 to point 14 with the distance from point 17 to point 36, where point 36 is the point where in the combined goalie stick plus extender, shaft 12 meets the wide portion of the combined stick plus extender. Equivalently, extender 21 extends flat portion 16 of the stick up shaft 12. In use, the combined goalie stick plus extender allows the goaltender's blocker hand to be higher when in a neutral stance, and compared to the stick without extender allows the goaltender to better balance towards the catcher-hand side.

In a preferred embodiment, lower surfaces 32 and 34 of members 22 and 24 are grooved so that shoulders 15 of stick 10 fit snugly into the grooves. This should prevent the extender 21 from rotating and losing alignment with the flat portion of the stick 16.

In another preferred embodiment, turning to FIG. 3, the ends 38 and 40 of members 22 and 24 are squared off, so that, turning to FIG. 5, when in use ends 38 and 40 roughly align with the outer edges 42 and 44 of flat portion 16 of stick 10.

In another preferred embodiment, members 22 and 24 are shaped so that they match the profile of flatter portion 16 of stick 10 when extender 21 is in use.

Extender 21 may be made from a variety of materials. Generally, cap 20 and members 22 and 24 will be made from a plastic that is durable and sufficiently rigid to withstand the wear and tear of use, including the likelihood of being impacted by a shot hockey puck.

In a preferred embodiment, the lower surfaces 32 and 34 are made of a more elastic material than cap 20 and members 22 and 24, allowing extender 21 to fit snugly and securely on shoulders 15 of stick 10. In a particularly preferred embodiment, the lower surfaces 32 and 34 are grooved and are also made of a more elastic material than cap 20 and members 22 and 24.

In another preferred embodiment, inner surface 46 of hole 26 is made of a more elastic material than cap 20 and members 22 and 24. This allows the extender to grip shaft 12 of stick 10, so that once the extender 21 is in place, it is less likely that extender 21 will move up shaft 12 and lose contact with shoulders 15.

In a particular preferred embodiment, extender 21 is made from TPE or thermoplastic elastomers. By varying the type of thermoplastic elastomers used, the elasticity of various portions of the extender 21 may also be varied as described above. For example, lower surfaces 32 and 34 may be made of a more elastic thermoplastic elastomer material than cap 20 and members 22 and 24, allowing extender 21 to fit snugly and securely on shoulders 15 of stick 10. Similarly, inner surface 46 of hole 26 may be made of a more elastic thermoplastic elastomer material than cap 20 and members 22 and 24.

In another preferred embodiment, illustrated in FIG. 6, the hockey stick extender is divided into two pieces 50 and 52. In use, pieces 50 and 52 are fitted onto the goalie stick, and then are attached to each other and the stick through use of tape, typically hockey tape. In FIG. 6, the hockey stick extender is illustrated as divided halfway between the two members 22 and 24 and at right angles to members 22 and 24; however, numerous divisions of the hockey stick extender are possible.

The hockey stick extender may be produced in a variety of sizes, such as Youth, Junior, Intermediate and Adult. Within each of those sizes, there can be a variety of thicknesses of the cap 20, which (turning to FIG. 5) can be used to adjust the distance from point 17 to point 36, where point 36 is the point where in the combined goalie stick plus extender, shaft 12 meets the wide portion of the combined stick plus extender.

The invention is not intended to be limited to the embodiments described herein, but rather the invention is intended to be applied widely within the scope of the inventive concept as defined in the specification as a whole including the appended claims. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A device comprising: a cap; two members attached at opposite ends of the cap extending away from the cap on a downwards angle; and a hole pierced through the cap.
 2. The device of claim 1 where the hole and members are adapted to fit securely on a goalie stick for hockey.
 3. The device of claim 1 where the underside of said members has a groove.
 4. The device of claim 1 where the underside of said members is made of a flexible plastic.
 5. A device as claimed in claim 1, where the device has been cut into two pieces and the cut separates the hole into two parts.
 6. The device of claim 1 where the hole has an inner surface, and the inner surface is made of a flexible plastic.
 7. The device of claim 1, where the underside of said members has a groove, the underside of said members is made of a flexible plastic, and the hole has an inner surface, and the inner surface is made of a flexible plastic.
 8. The device of claim 7 where the hole and members are adapted to fit securely on a goalie stick for hockey.
 9. The device of claim 8, where the device has been cut into two pieces and the cut separates the hole into two parts.
 10. The device of claim 6, where the flexible plastic is a thermoplastic elastomer.
 11. The device of claim 7, where the flexible plastic is a thermoplastic elastomer.
 12. The device of claim 9 where the hole and members are adapted to fit securely on a goalie stick for hockey.
 13. The device of claim 10, where the device has been cut into two pieces and the cut separates the hole into two parts. 